10 Years Gone
by mintlumos
Summary: Angela finds herself approached by two ghosts from the past on a trip to Rio. Mercy 76 FOREVER! *cough* but yeah, mostly just to satisfy the Mercy 76 fangirl in me.


Angela Zeigler glanced towards the right, someone was definitely following her. She casually took the safety off the small blaster in her pocket, she really wasn't in the mood for this tonight. One of the guards at the hospital had offered her an escort back to the Overwatch ship, she should have taken it, but she had declined, she had had her fill of people for the day and she felt comfortable enough with the streets of Rio to walk the mile back to the ship herself, that is until someone started to follow her. She wasn't even suppose to be at the hospital, but she couldn't help it, the rest of the team was off looking for some renegade hero DJ, and she was back on the ship doing nothing, she felt she could be more useful out helping people. Winston had argued, she had won, she usually did, Winston was hesitant to get on the wrong side of his only medical staff.

"Enough of this." Angela muttered under her breath. She turned and faced the alley that felt less empty than it should. "I have to warn you, I have had a long day, I am armed and I will fire if necessary." .

A low chuckle echoed off the alley walls. "Well, Doc, whatever happened to 'no harm'? If you had been like this back then, we might have gotten along better."

A shadow detached from the rest of the darkness and stepped toward her. Angela felt her skin crawl, the figure was dressed in heavy black with a white skull-like mask covering his face. "It's been awhile, Doctor Zeigler."

Angela's brain raced. This man recognized her, but she didn't know anyone in Rio. His voice was a low growl that she couldn't place. Who was this, what did he want with her?

"I would say fancy meeting you here, except I followed you here."

"To the alley?"

"To Rio."

"Why?"

The figure took another step forward, every part of her wanted to take a step back but she held her ground raising her blaster.

The man snorted. "That pea-shooter? You're still carrying that around?"

Angela was out of patience, She fired, hoping to get the drop on him. The blast went right through his shoulder in a whisp of smoke. She blinked in disbelief, it almost look as if he had turned into vapor. Something stirred in the back of her memory, some argument.

The man raised his arms slightly, two large shotgun were in his hands. "You'll have to try harder than that."

Angela's eyes grew wide as she recognized the weapons. What had he called them. "Hellfire shotguns." She whispered.

"Starting to remember, are we?" The man growled.

Angela looked at the mask in disbelief. "Gabriel?"

"Not anymore."

Angela took a step backwards, felt the world tilt. "You're alive."

He shrugged. "Enough to get business done."

"What happened to you?!"

He held up and arm, for a second it seemed to turn into smoke and then solidify. "You tell me, Doc." He shrugged again. "But enough reconnecting." He raised his other shotgun. "It's time to depart."

"Where are we going?"

"Well, I'm returning to Talon HQ, you'll be staying here...permanently."

Angela took another step back. "What? Why would you-!"

"Well, as she said, we can't have the second-most brilliant doctor of our age running around regrouping with the new Overwatch, now can we? I don't really get why you joined back up, you argued with the leaders more than I did."

Angela raised her chin slightly. "It doesn't matter, people need help and I'm not going to withhold it over small disagreements. Wait. She? Second best…."

Gabriel tilted his head, waiting. The pieces clicked into place and Angela felt real anger since this meeting. "You can tell that Scottish bitch I said 'Go to Hell!'" She hissed through gritted teeth.

Gabriel laughed coldly. "I'll be sure to pass on your regards." He raised the guns again. Angela raised her own blaster, she really wasn't in the mood for this.

Suddenly there was a scraping sound above them, another figure suddenly plunged from the rooftops on top of Gabriel. Gabriel noticed a millisecond before disaster and turned into vapor, drifted slightly to the side before reforming. The second figure sprang up, lifting a large rifle and firing it almost point blank in the skull mask. Gabriel grunted with pain but didn't go down. He brought up a shotgun and lashed towards the man's face instead of firing. The man ducked under and brought his elbow up, cracking against the mask. Gabriel growled and disappeared with a whisper of smoke. The man looked around wildly.

"Enough games, Reaper!" He yelled gruffly.

Angela screamed with shock as a cold voice came from her immediate left. Gabriel was suddenly a foot from her, shotgun level with her head. "Agreed."

She ducked and sqeezed her eyes shut as a deafening blast sounded. Something hit her in the side and she hit the alley wall painfully. She gasped, she could gasp, she was still alive. She opened her eyes. All she could see was a leather jacket, the man had her pinned against the wall, covering her from fire. He turned suddenly and there was another blast as he fired his rifle again. There was the sound of a body hitting the pavement. The man lunged to tackle Gabriel but he hit pavement, smoke wisps curling away.

"This isn't over, Reaper." The man yelled in a rasp.

"It is for now, 76." Gabriel's voice came from somewhere down the alley.

And as quickly as it started, it was over. Angela took a few shuddering breaths, hardly believing what had happened in the past few minutes. Gabriel was alive, working for Talon and had tried to kill her. A grunt of pain brought her to her senses. The man, 76 Gabriel had called him, was slowly getting off the ground. It was obvious how he got his handle, there was a huge '76' on the back of his jacket, his jacket that was trickling blood.

"You're hurt." She stepped forward to help and took a startled step backwards as the man's head snapped around to face her. He looked like he had seen better days, from what she could see of him. His face was covered in a large visor that blinked with red light. Above the visor, large scars showed on his forehead, above that was short white hair that he probably cut himself. His jacket was pockmarked with holes, burns and tears, this had not been his first fight. He wore thick padded pants and combat boots that also showed wear. He leaned over painfully to pick up his rifle. She narrowed her eyes. A pulse rifle, the kind used by soldiers years ago.

"Shotgun blasts do that." He muttered as he limped towards the alley exit, he stumbled and caught himself on the wall. Angela shook of the shock and hurried forward to help. "I'm a doctor, I can help you."

"I'm fine, I've had worse."

She knocked aside the hand he held up in protest and slide an arm around his waist before he could push her off. "Just because you've had worse doesn't mean you're fine."

A memory tugged painfully in the back of her mind. She had said those exact words to someone years ago.

"Really, Doctor, just leave me."

"Not happening. You're bleeding heavily, I can fix that. Besides." She took his arms around her shoulders, shifting his weight onto herself slightly. "I owe you one now. I don't think I would have come out on top in that fight."

76 gave a tired sigh. Angela couldn't help but grin to herself, she loved winning arguments. "Fine, there's a place two streets up."

They slowly made their way up the street in silence, both preoccupied with their own thoughts. He pointed her into a broken down doorway in a deserted looking part of the street. Inside the place was empty except some broken furniture and a couch that had would have been in disrepair five years ago. Angela slowly lowered him to the couch where he sat with a sigh of relief. She dropped the doctor's bag she had over her shoulder. "If you would let me see the wound."

"I let you help me here, that's enough. I can handle it from here." 76 waved her off briskly. He reached behind the couch and a duffle bag appeared out of nowhere. From it he pulled a small cylinder, twisting it to life.

"That's a bio field." Angela gasped in surprise. Those had been top tech years ago, only the most elite forces had those. She looked back up at him with furrowed eyebrows. Who was this guy?

He set the bio field down, letting it work on his side, slowly stopping the bleeding. "I would appreciate if you would go, Doctor."

"I'm not leaving until you let me help."

"You already helped enough."

"At least let me examine you."

"I don't need one, I know where the holes are."

"Then let me patch you up."

"I can patch myself."

"Stop being so stubborn!"

"I could say the same!"

She was on her knees, fists curled at her sides. He was leaning forward, visor inches from her nose.

They both glared at each other.

"Leave."

"No."

"You're being obstinate, Angela."

"You're being an idiot, Jack!"

Angela gasped and covered her mouth, rocking back on her heels, she didn't know why she had said that.

The effect was one she didn't expect. The man froze, his eyebrows startled, he looked stunned.

Angela felt her insides go cold. It couldn't be. She leaned forward slightly, narrowing her eyes, looking at him more closely. If Gabriel had survived the collapse of the Swiss HQ then, why not.

She uncovered her mouth, holding her hands over her heart, barely daring to breath. "Jack?" She asked softly.

The man still didn't move for a moment, then he dropped his head, looking at the floor. "I didn't want this." He said in a low, strained voice.

"Didn't want what?!" Numbness spread across her arms. "For us to know you were alive?!" Hot anger overtook the cold shock in her veins. She felt ten years of sadness and angry flood over her.

"Yes, it would have been safer-"

"If I thought you were still in that grave I cried over?!" She was suddenly on her feet. "I spent weeks, Jack, weeks mourning you!"

She was shaking with adrenaline. "I thought I was never going to see you again!"

"You weren't suppose to." He said quietly, still talking to the floor.

"Your face, Jack, let me see it!" She demanded.

He did move for a few long minutes. Then slowly he lifted a hand up to the sides of his visor and there was a disconnecting click. He slowly lowered his hand and placed the visor next to him.

Angela took a step forward, bending to look at him. Her heart contracted painfully, it was Jack. The last ten years had not been kind to him, he looked like he had aged a life time, lines and heavy scars tracing his face cutting into his nose and lips. White stubble on his chin matched the white hair, his eyes still staring at the floor were lined and tired. Angela opened her mouth but couldn't think of anything to say. After a tense minute she shook her head, and cleared her throat. "Now that that's out of the way, will you let me fix you up?"

He dropped his head lower with a sigh of defeat. "I'm starting to think I never won an argument with you." He grumbled as he struggled out his shirt.

"I might have let you win one, just to keep up your self-esteem." Angela smiled slightly. Her smile melted away as she looked his chest over. "Are all those from the day you disappeared?!" Her eyes darted from deep scar to deep scar that covered his chest.

"Most of them." He admitted.

She knelt back down, getting her nano suture tool out. "Lift your arm a little." She concentrated on her work, stitching the skin in his side back together. He didn't say anything else while she worked, his eyes still on the floor. She put the instrument down after a while. "I think that will hold. Anything else while I'm here?"

He gave a grunt of a laugh. "I think that's it."

She closed up her bag and slowly got up, only to sit down on the couch next to him. She had had her angry outburst, she felt calmer now. Still in shock, but calmer. The heartache wearing through her temper. Two friends she thought she had buried were running around the world trying to kill each other. She rubbed her face tiredly.

"I…" Jack cleared his throat. "I…. thought about contacting you…..a lot….but I felt like it was safer for you to not know."

"Why, Jack? What would make that safer for me?" She asked tiredly.

"Because if I contacted you, I wouldn't be able to stay away." He said softly. "Gabriel was tracking me just like I was tracking him. I didn't want to get you involved. It seems I no longer have a choice in the matter." He reached over, hesitated and then placed one hand over hers. "I missed you, Angela." He whispered. He finally looked up to meet her eyes. Angela felt her breath catch, it was the same eyes as back then, piercing blue eyes. It brought back the memories of ten years ago, the days of the height of Overwatch. The sidelong looks the commander would give her in long meetings. The brief smiles, the long talks after even longer shifts, falling asleep on the couch on Halloween. Even more so, looking at his eyes brought back the memory of the last time she had seen him, just before she had left him in the office that had exploded hours later.

They had stood in the darkened hall, his face close to hers. "Just think about it, Angela." He had said, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear, his thumb tracing the side of her face. "I know it's not the best time, but I don't want to delay and waste years we could have."

Apparently they were thinking of the same memory because his mouth twitched in a sad smile. "I guess I ended up wasting those years, didn't I?"

Angela put her other hand on top of his, curling her fingers around his palm. Another long silence. Then Angela moved closer to him, leaning her head down to his shoulder. "I missed you too."

Jack's arm moved around her waist, pulling her close, his face buried in her hair. He breathed deeply and let out a contented sigh, he pulled her other hand in and intertwined his fingers with hers. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I wanted to."

Angela felt the shock of the evening was finally wearing off, enough that tears were welling up in her eyes, she buried her face in his neck. "I know. We even had a date planned. Missing that one must have been hard." She laughed softly with a sniff.

Jack curled his arm tighter around her waist, his cheek resting on her forehead. "Harder than anything else." He leaned down, lifting his hand to tuck her hair behind her ear, running his thumb across her jaw in a familiar gesture that made her shiver. "You're still as beautiful as the day I left." He whispered.

Angela caught her breath as she tilted her face up to his, his warm breath on her face. He suddenly stopped and pulled back. "We shouldn't-. I'm not-"

She curled her hand in his chest hair, tugging slightly. "I've waited ten years for this, Jack Morrison. You better not make me wait any longer."

He laughed silently as he lowered his face again and kissed her. Angela leaned into it, pulling herself closer, wrapping one hand around his neck, feeling the deep scars with her fingers. His strong arms encircling her, pulling her close. It didn't matter. The weeks she had cried in her room, the years they had missed. She had him now, finally.

She wasn't sure how long they were there together, she wasn't aware of time passing until there was a shrill beep. They both jumped.

"That's my comms." Angela cleared her throat.

"You should probably answer it before they come looking for you." Jack reluctantly released her from his grip. She quickly ran a hand through her hair and tried to look calm as she answered. Winston's face appeared on the screen, he looked relieved. "You picked up."

"Yes, sorry, time got away from me."

"You were suppose to return from the hospital hours ago, where are you?"

"I got sidetracked, I found someone beat up in an alley, I've been patching them up."

"We found our guy, we're waiting for you to return to base."

"I'll be there soon, sorry, Winston." She closed the device.

She looked up apologetically. "I have to go."

Jack stood up nodding. "I know." He pulled a clean shirt out and over his head. "We both have missions to finish."

Angela bit her lip as she picked up her bag. "Be careful with him, after what Moria did to him...I don't know what he is."

She put the nano suture tool in his hand. "Take care of yourself, Jack."

He nodded, suddenly looking tired again. "I'll try."

"Will you come back to Overwatch?"

He looked down at the floor. "Not yet, I don't know if ever. I don't think I would be a good fit anymore."

"Will you come back to me?"

He smiled faintly and looked up at her. "I told you, once I contacted you, I wouldn't be able to stay away."

He pulled her for one last embrace. "I'll try not to make it too long this time."

"Soon?"

"We'll see."

Angela leaned back and put a hand to the side of his face. "Well, think about it, Jack. I know it's not the best time, but I don't want to waste the years we could have."

His face split into a grin as he chuckled, leaning down to nuzzle her. "You got it."

She kissed him gently. "Goodbye, Jack."

He let her go and smiled sadly. "Goodbye, Angela."


End file.
